German bank evacuated due to white powder scare: report
Technicians at the Adolfo Lutz Institute take white powder found in a suspicious package for examination and testing for anthrax contamination, 24 October 2001 at the institute in Sao Paulo.
BERLIN, Germany — Some 700 bank employees were evacuated from a bank near Leipzig today, with forty employees undergoing health examinations after inhaling white powder found in a letter in the building, reported Reuters, citing local German police.
The Deutsche Bank in Schkeuditz, an eastern town near Leipzig, was surrounded by firemen and gas-masked equipped policemen earlier today, said Reuters.
No additional details were immediately available regarding the nature of the powder, but it raises concerns of an attack similar to the 2001 anthrax attacks in the United States, which involved a similar substance.
A spokesman for the bank told Reuters Germany's biggest lender occupied part of the building.
Local reports cited by Reuters suggested the incident could be related to disagreements over wages.